What should developing countries do to effectively participate in the global E-Commerce?

DISSERTATION

WHAT SHOULD DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DO TO EFFECTIVELY PARTICIPATE IN THE GLOBAL E-COMMERCE

20 , 856 words

July 15 , 2006

Outline

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

ABSTRACT .3

CHAPTER I - INTRODUCTION .6

I .1 The Evolution of E-commerce .6

I .2 E-commerce in the Developed Countries .11

I .3 E-Commerce Status in the Developing Countries .19

CHAPTER II -- E-COMMERCE IMPACT ON THE ECONOMIC GROWTH IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES . 27

II .1 Why E-commerce .27

II .2 E-commerce and the Development of SMEs . 33

CHAPTER III

-- E-COMMERCE ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENT . 40

III .1 Users ' Awareness and Building Human Resources . 40

III .2 Telecommunications Infrastructure . 44

III .3 Security . 47

III .4 Legal Framework . 51

III .5 Adequate Financial Services . 54

III .6 Government Endorsement . 57

CHAPTER IV -- DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AND THE CHALLENGES OF

E-COMMERCE .60

IV .1 Security and Privacy Issues . 60

IV .2 E-Commerce Legislation , E-Contracts

E-Signatures , E-Crime Laws . 66

IV .3 Jurisdiction Issues . 73

CHAPTER V - CONCLUSION . 77

BIBLIOGRAPHY . 81

ABSTRACT

Electronic commerce , EC , e-commerce or ecommerce consists primarily of the distributing , buying , selling , marketing , and servicing of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks . It typically uses electronic communications technology such as the Internet , extranets , e-mail , e-books , databases and mobile phones

Electronic commerce , or internet trade , is a fast growing economic venture in today 's globalized economy . Every second , more and more people from the private sector , as well as from the governments all over the globe think of ways not only on how to make use of e-commerce , but more so on how to protect , improve and legalize transactions done through the internet

However , while E-commerce is said to have revolutionized the way people are conducting business today , it is also perceived to have widen the gap between the advanced capitalist countries and the Third World Countries . This so-called digital-divide between the highly developed countries and the developing countries presents a huge challenge to the growth - and sustainability - of E-commerce . On one hand , because of their capacity to develop the necessary infrastructure in building e-commerce , developed countries are more adept and advanced in technological revolution , giving them the advantage in the global electronic trade , thus boosting their national economies . On the other hand , developing countries remained lagging behind in the internet trade not only because of their incapacity to develop the necessary infrastructure , but also because they lack the capacity to develop products that are suitable for internet trading

The strengthening of the competition between and among the developed countries is also seen as one of the desired effects of e-commerce . As a result of engaging in business on a global scale , developed countries like the United States of America and the United Kingdom now try to outmaneuver each other in creating on-line security software and drafting and enacting legal measures to enhance the volume of E-commerce in their areas . Hence , these countries are also in the forefront of addressing issues related to the practice of E-commerce such as security , e-crimes and intellectual property...